


For the First Time (GotG Self Insert)

by Kelblue_Fire18



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Fluff In The End, Gen, Other, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, in real life my family is fine and happy, mentions of abuse, this is based on #39 from 100 Prompts that Will Make You Cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 04:17:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17015565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelblue_Fire18/pseuds/Kelblue_Fire18
Summary: Inspired by #39 from 100 Prompts that Will Make You Cry by @writing-prompt-sWarning: contains mentions of kidnapping, child and sexual abuse, language. If these trigger you, do not read.





	For the First Time (GotG Self Insert)

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by #39 from 100 Prompts that Will Make You Cry by @writing-prompt-s
> 
> Warning: contains mentions of kidnapping, child and sexual abuse, language. If these trigger you, do not read.

I have forgotten how long it had been since I have seen light. In fact, I have forgotten how long since I have missed my original family, but gained a new one, mixed with my old one. 

I am Payton Gray, and this is my story. 

I remember vaguely my father leaving me, my older brother, and my mother alone at the ripe age of 5, the last argument between her and him prior to him stomping out the door with a packed suitcase in his hands, and slamming it, shattering the walls and a few pictures here and there falling to the floor. 

One of them was my parents, my brother and I, but younger, smiling and unknowing of the heartbreaking future ahead. 

I remember vaguely my mother working two jobs to support me and my brother, while we were at school, and coming home sometimes to find her on the couch, sleeping away her stress and worries. At times, she would wake up to find a blanket draped over her and a plate of food and a drink waiting for her to eat, and a few times, she would find us sleeping peacefully next to her, waiting for her to wake up. 

I remember very much vaguely her laying on the hospital bed, her life slipping away to a disease I would never understand, as my brother and I sat next to her, holding to her hand, begging her to hold on a while longer, for her life. 

I remember the heart monitor flatlining, Conner and I yelling for her to come back, us being pulled out from the room for the doctors to revive her. 

I remember running out of the hospital, my backpack in my hands, my brother calling out for me, tears falling from my eyes, my hands and knees meeting the wet ground as the moon shone over me. 

I remember a bright light shining on me, a scream escaping from my lips. 

And then nothing. 

*****

I have not a memory of how I was brought there, but I knew one thing: I was trapped somewhere, separated from my brother and my home. Trapped in an unknown place with strangers who planned on taking advantage of me and using me for their pleasure. Trapped with no chance of escape. 

I was scared, terrified of them every time I come near them. Terrified of anything they would do if I disobeyed them. 

I had managed to escape a few times, but I have lost count of how many times I was caught. The last time I nearly escaped, I was begging a nearby citizen to help me, but they caught me before I could say any more. 

They believed their lies, but they never listened to my truth. 

As punishment for escaping, they would beat me, touch me in places and hurt me so bad I could barely move until they understood I wouldn’t disobey or escape again. 

For years on end, my memories of my home and family lingered, as I silently begged God to send someone to save me, to free me from the torturous place they forced me to call ‘home’. I begged for any signs of freedom, anything that would lead me back to my brother, to Earth. 

One day, he heard my prayers. 

*****

“How are we doing, Rocket?” Peter Quill called out to one of his teammates, as he prepared his guns for an attack on the slave ship. 

“We’re getting close,” A raccoon, who is holding a device, a big gun on his back. “I’ve already prepped up the bombs, so we should be good to go.”

“And what of the captives that we save?” Drax the Destroyer asked the leader. 

“We’ll take them to Xander for the Nova Corps to care for them and bring back to their homes. Hopefully, we should get them out quick and easy.”

“And thankfully, no one else would be captured,” Gamora added, her sword ready for action. 

“I am Groot!”

“Ready like you are, buddy,” Rocket grinned. 

The device beeped rapidly, and he pressed the button that would cause the bombs on the ship to blow. A few booms from the outside were heard as Quill landed the Milano into the slave ship, the slavers already heading to the source of the sounds. 

“Mantis, stay with us, okay?” He called to Mantis, who nodded and followed the others to free the prisoners. 

Peter shot at a few slavers, while Rocket laughed like a maniac atop Groot’s shoulder, the latter throwing some guards around. Gamora and Drax slashed at the guards, the man laughing in victory as he defeated one of them. 

Eventually, the only one alive was the main guard, who groaned on the floor holding his head. Peter held him up by the collar, his gun pointed at his forehead. 

“Alright, pal? Where are the prisoners?” He demanded. 

“Go ahead,” the main guard chuckled darkly. “You’ll never find them.”

“Oh, yeah?” Rocket held the device that located the hostages trapped on the ship and chuckled at the shocked expression on his face. 

“Alright, spread out,” Peter said. “Get the prisoners out of here, and call the Nova Corps.” 

Gamora, Drax and Mantis nodded, while Rocket and Groot stayed to keep an eye on the main guard. 

“On it.” Rocket pulled out another device and called the Nova Corps for them to pick up the slaves.

Gamora and Drax went to different directions, releasing most of the prisoners trapped here, while Mantis went with Peter to make sure no one is left behind. 

“Wait! Stop!” A female Xandarian yelled. 

Gamora stared at her in confusion. “What is it?”

“She’s still in there! The female Terran!” The Xandarian pointed at the direction Gamora started at. 

At the mention of Terran, Peter’s stomach dropped. Another Terran? Like him? Far from Earth? 

“Hold on! I’m on my way!” He headed to the direction, as Mantis followed behind him. “Rocket! Can you find her?”

“Found her!” Rocket’s voice called from the comm of his helmet. “She’s in 823!”

Sure enough, the numbers 823 on the prison door where the Terran is were found, and Peter peeped through the hole of the door. What he found next made his eyes grow wide in terror, and his heart became a heavy weight. A body was on the floor unmoving even as he called out to her. 

“Drax will free the female Terran!” The warrior yelled and slammed himself against the door, regaining his posture after he had successfully knocked the door down.

Peter, Gamora, and Mantis followed, and the women gasped at the sight, more shocked like him. 

A young woman laid on the cold floor unmoving, bruises and cuts covering her arms and legs, her back facing them. Her clothes were tattered and surfaced in dirt and dried blood as well as her hair.

Peter knelt on the ground and turned her over, only to meet a face with eyes closed and bruises on her cheek and eye. He placed two fingers on her neck and sighed in comfort, relieved that a pulse could be felt. 

“How is she, Peter?" Gamora asked him worriedly. 

“She’s still breathing, but she doesn’t look good,” Peter responded. 

He placed an arm under her legs, and another arm under her back gently, and carried her bridal style, before turning to face the others. 

“I’ve already called the Nova Corps,” Rocket piped in. “Said they’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“We got plenty of time. C’mon!” 

With the woman in his arms, Peter headed back to the main room with Gamora, Drax, and Mantis following behind. By the time they had come to the main room, the Nova Corps had just arrived to find the main guard trapped in vines, and the prisoners waiting to be truly rescued. 

In the Milano, the girl was already cleaned and cared for, but still remained unmoving on Peter’s bed. He sat beside her, watching her as her chest rose up and down repeatedly, her breathing audible. 

“I am Groot?” Groot sat beside her on the floor, a sad expression in his eyes. 

“She’s fine now,” Peter responded softly. “But she’s still not waking up. We’ll just give her some space, okay?” 

Groot nodded, and they exited out the room, but not before Peter took one last look at the young woman. 

“What happened to her, and how did she get here?” He thought as he sat in the cockpit, listening to his music on his Zune. 

*****

The first thing I knew, a bright light came into my visions, and numerous voices echoed around me, as I tried to find my way through the brightness. Then...I fell, with nothing to catch myself. 

I woke up with a start, my breathing heavy and sweat falling from my head. Bandages were wrapped around on my arms and legs, and the pain on my cheeks and body no longer throbbed through me. Only a moment has passed, and I took in the surroundings around me. 

I was in a room, but not in the prison ship. A different room, I understood. The prison I was in didn’t have a bed, or a dresser, or anything a penitentiary doesn’t have. Wherever I’m in, I’m not in the place I was trapped in anymore. 

But who saved me? 

My question was answered when the door slid open to reveal a man much different than the ones back at the prison; his skin was light, his hair was curly and reddish, and his eyes were green or blue-I couldn’t tell which color. He wore a red coat that hung low to the ground, and a gray shirt that read something in an alien language of some sort. 

Without knowing, I backed up a bit fearfully as I stared at him wide-eyed, my breathing heavy and shuddering. 

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay,” the man said to me in a soothing voice, slowly walking towards me, his hands up as if to tell me he means no harm. “You’re safe. It’s alright. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“W-w-who are you?” I asked him, my voice shaking from the fear in me. 

“It’s okay, my name is Peter Quill,” he said to me, his hands still up. “My team and I saved you back there, you were unconscious when we found you.”

I didn’t believe him, as I was still backing up slightly from him until my back met the wall behind me. 

“Where am I? What are you gonna do with me? Just don’t hurt me, please.”

I was shaking already more than I imagined, my own hands already up to defend myself. Tears were blurring my vision, but I could feel the bed I was sitting on shift under the man’s weight as he soothingly tried to talk to me. 

“Hey, hey, no, it’s okay. No one’s gonna hurt you anymore. You’re in the Milano, my ship. We’re on our way to Xandar. We’ve already fixed you up, but I just wanna know a few things about you first. What’s your name?”

I looked at him apprehensively and doubtingly, my hands now lowered to reveal my eyes at him. A tear-stained face was all it took for his own to soften. 

“...P-Payton. M-my name is Payton Gray.”

“Payton, huh? That’s actually a pretty name. What were you doing out there?”

“T-th-they took me.” My voice was stuttering and my eyes were filling with tears, but I kept speaking regardless. “T-they stole me from my h-h-home, they t-took me from my family.”

Peter’s face changed to a solemn expression when I revealed the purpose I was out there, why I was taken against my will. 

“T-they...(sniff)...hurt me...they took advantage of me. I tried to f-fight back, but...I couldn’t. They threatened me. Threatened to kill me, threatened to leave me if I ever escaped again. I wanted to go back. I wanted to go home. I miss home.”

One moment I was sitting against the wall, covering myself for protection as I did for years, the next, I felt arms wrap around me in a flash, pulling me into a warm, affectionate embrace, one I have not touched in the longest time. 

It obviously doesn’t need to have words. 

I didn’t stop my hand in time from holding on to his shoulder and wrapping my other arm around his back. Nor did I stop myself from burying my face into his shirt, finally letting all the pain and relief out after keeping it all in for so long. 

*****

During the journey from Xandar to Earth, I got to know the Guardians more. Not only that, the despair and anguish that had trapped in me faded away from my mind as the days went by. 

Peter had been taken from his home, too, just like me. But in truth, the man who took him saved him from his father who planned on using him for destroying the whole galaxy. 

Gamora lost her own family back then when she was a child, but years later, she had escaped from the Mad Titan who used her as a soldier for his dirty deeds. 

Drax lost his family at the hands of the Mad Titan’s partner and finally got his revenge only three years ago. 

Rocket was genetically engineered to create things, build weapons (one time, he made me one that would protect if I ever got separated from the Guardians), and upgrade in the Milano. Even though he can be grouchy, he’s actually a gentle sweetheart (he just didn’t want to admit it). 

Groot was the most gentle giant that is around me whenever I feel like the weight is taking me over. He’d make me flower crowns and place them on my head. I’d knew right away that he loved to make me feel better. 

Mantis kept me company at times whenever we are out with the Guardians, placing her hand on my shoulders to reassure me, to let me know that I am safe with them as long they are around. 

Nebula, I had met one time, seemed to be very serious and ready to finish me if I made the wrong move, but when Gamora told the story about me, Nebula had put away her sword and nodded at me. Gamora later told me that she had accepted me, leaving me relieved.

Even though they felt like a second family, I desired my old one back on Earth. 

My mother, my cousins, my aunt and uncle, my grandmother. 

But who I missed the most was Conner. My older and only brother. 

He had been through everything with me before I disappeared; when our father left us, when I got picked on before he came to my rescue, when I needed someone to hold on to in the dark. 

When our beloved mother died.

I missed them terribly. More than anything else I could imagine. 

*****

I felt my shoulder being shaken gently, and I groaned as I turned to face Gamora’s grinning face. 

“There’s someone outside who’d be happy to see you again,” she told me. “You should get ready.” 

Then she got up and left me to get dressed for whoever was waiting for me. 

At first, I didn’t have a clue what is going on, about what the others had in mind for me. As I stepped out of the room, Groot, Mantis, Rocket, and Drax were waiting for me, all of them having the same smiling expression like Gamora. 

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Where’s Peter?”

“Why don’t you come with us and ask him yourself?” Rocket asked back. 

Groot then led me to the entrance of the Milano, putting a branch in front of my eyes, leaving me to see only the darkness. 

Then, my feet felt...dirt. Grass. 

I gasped. 

Wait, grass? But that means...

“Payton?”

A male voice. One that didn’t sound like Peter or Rocket at all. 

I paused in my tracks, Groot following the same motion. 

When he pulled the branch away from my eyes, I finally understood why they wanted me out here in the first place. 

Peter and Gamora stood next to the man, whose eyes widened at my appearance, a few tears already escaping to his cheeks. I squinted my own, then they grew as plates when I recognized the man. 

“Conner?”

The man stepped closer to me, cupping my face with his one hand as more tears came down. My own eyes were now blurry with salt water as I recognized him for the first time in years. 

He had changed so much since I was taken from home. He no longer had the long, curly hair like he used to as a child, now cut off, revealing his brows fully. His looks changed, too, nearly identical as Dad’s, apart from his blonde locks. 

The only thing that hadn’t changed at all was his eyes. 

I laughed lightly, and his arms were now trapping me in a strong hug, my hands doing the same thing. He held onto me like he didn’t want to let me go, which I profoundly believed that he would never. 

The world forgotten, everything no longer mattered to us. 

Just me and Conner, holding on to one another like we wanted it to last forever.

Peter and the team stood aside as they watched the reunion unfold in front of them. 

Conner managed to catch a glimpse at the leader, and smiled, his eyes still pooling with tears. 

“Thank you,” he mouthed to them. 

Peter nodded in reply, as a way of saying ‘you’re welcome’. 

I was so far away from home for as long as I can remember, for nearly 15 years of my life. I have missed so much of what had happened while I was gone. 

Now I have a new family, united with the one I had lost. 

Now I am home.


End file.
